Tags
Howler, Indie, Indie Music, Indie Rock, Jack Campbell, Minneapolis, Minnesota, MPLSmusic, Teenage Moods, The Varsity Theater, Varsity
First things first, Jack Campbell (for lack of a better band name – which they clearly stated multiple times) reminded me of a band I was in in high school. What’s that? I wasn’t in a band? Oh yeah. The music this group performed was immature and all over the place. The “lead singer” has yet to develop his voice, the bass player took every second to discuss his opinion, say hi to people, etc, etc. I understand these kids are kids, but hell, even Justin Bieber had more of a mature set these guys gave Thursday night. Keep practicing kids, you have a LONG way to go.
Teenage Moods surprised me with what they had to offer (maybe it was how low of a performance the first group gave) but Teenage Moods has a great sound going for them. They were very energetic throughout and featured each member of the band for the talents they had. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I loved the fact that every once-in-a-while the harmonies were a little off. I actually rather enjoyed watching how much effort they put into their music and this performance that it was nice to see that they were human. I’d love to go see them again and most likely will.
Howler reminded me of a Ska band without a horns section. Their 30-43 min set included every song they have ever recorded (or so I was told by the guy next to me) but still made me feel like they left something out. Maybe cover a song or two, show us something new, I mean I could have gone to pick up the record and listened to it on the drive in, but when I see a live show, I guess I expect something more. Granted Howler gave the crowd what they wanted, they didn’t go above and beyond or really anything more than expected.